No Age-Group Cricket, Two Failed Trials: How Anshuman Hooda Turned One Last Chance into a Cricket Career
He had not played age-group cricket. Two U-23 trials ended without selection. And eventually, the uncertainty became difficult to ignore.
Xtra Time Newsdesk: Before becoming one of Delhi’s fastest-rising pace bowlers, 25-year-old Anshuman Hooda was a national-level roller skater, an engineering graduate from Delhi Technological University (DTU), and an EY employee. Cricket was always a part of his life, but it was never that straightforward for him.
He had not played age-group cricket. Two U-23 trials ended without selection. And eventually, the uncertainty became difficult to ignore. Anshuman Hooda began considering a future away from the cricket field, even thinking about building a career in engineering.
Then came one simple suggestion from his coach Harish Dagar: give cricket one more year.
That extra year became the turning point. Hooda went on to take 22 wickets in the Delhi Premier League, claim the Purple Cap and play a part in South Delhi Superstarz’s title-winning campaign. More importantly, he discovered that the years spent outside the conventional cricket pathway had not closed the door on his dream.
His pace became another weapon. He crossed the 140 kmph mark and made it clear that he wants to keep pushing those numbers higher, without compromising on accuracy or his bowling discipline.
The biggest change, however, was not measured by speed or wickets. It was in the belief that followed. The player who once contemplated quitting now has a much bigger target of representing India.
Anshuman Hooda’s story is a reminder that a delayed start is not necessarily a dead end. Sometimes, all it takes is one more year, one more attempt and the courage to stay with the dream a little longer.
